Like sands through the hour glass . . . So goes the saga that is Richmond baseball.

There had been rumblings that the Bryan Bostic-led Richmond Baseball Club was having problems coming up with the capital to purchase Double-A Connecticut, and it looks like those have proven true. Word comes today that the deal is dead . . . and now Minor League Baseball is back to Square One.

RBC will not be able to meet the $15 million price tag for the Defenders, the Richmond Times Dispatch reports this morning.

This has to be a blow to Minor League Baseball officials, which essentially controlled a closed selection process and played a big role in selecting the ownership group.

MILB president Pat O’Conner said on Wednesday, before the announcement of the deal falling through, said that they will still have an Eastern League team in Richmond no matter what next season.

“We’re very committed to Richmond and we’ll get it worked out,” O’Conner said. “That’s our commitment (to bring the Eastern League to Richmond). That’s what the deal is on the table. If for some reason (Bostic and DiBella) can’t close that deal, we are committed to finding other solutions.”

A few questions, which I hope to have answered shortly, remain . . .

Is Richmond now an Eastern League territory or can another league, say the Southern League, step in? How firm is that Aug. 1 deadline (I’m betting not so hard, considering teams have relocated in the past much closer to Opening Day)? Who are the new players, and will Bostic’s group still be involved as a local operator/part owner?